Rustic love: Always room for more
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- December 28, 2009
- 720
But my favorite Christmas activity is watching my children grow up with our crèche. Our rustic, barn siding crèche that sits on our piano bench at the end of the hallway.
When Mike and I were first married, we did not have much money. I was in graduate school and Mike was delivering furniture for Furniture Annex. We knew Christmas would be tight so we decided to forgo getting each other gifts and spend what money we did have buying gifts for our families.
But as usual, Mike had a surprise up his sleeve. He got some old barn siding from his parents’ farm, and built me this beautiful crèche with straw glued on the bottom. It is a three sided, rustic looking barn with cracks and dents, crooked walls and gaps. And it is the most beautiful thing you could ever imagine.
Since that first Christmas, Mike has given me one Fontanini figurine each year to fill our crèche with the story of Christmas. We have Mary, Joseph, Jesus, wise men, shepherds, angels, cattle, oxen and even sheep. Our crèche has become quite crowded over the years, but there always seems to be enough room for one more character and even more love.
I didn’t always share my crèche very easily. I wanted to keep it all for myself. Keep it safe. When Hannah and Sydney were little, I kept it up high on top of the piano where little hands could not touch and possibly break my figurines. I even bought my children a crèche of their own to play with, yet they still longed to play with mine.
Then one year, quite a few years back, Mike convinced me let the kids play with my crèche. So we moved it down to the piano bench, a height where they could reach it, and enjoy it.
That was one of the best decisions I ever made. Since then, all four of our children have grown up playing with and loving our Mary, Joseph and Jesus. They have mooed with the cattle, grazed with the sheep and sung with the angels. And we have seen the gift of Christmas through their eyes.
I remember the year I came downstairs to find that Hannah had moved all the figurines close to baby Jesus. They were all piled and huddled around the manger where baby Jesus lay. I sternly asked Hannah why she had not put everything back in place when she was done playing. And that’s when God taught me about love.
“Mom,” she said, with eyes bright and shining, “they all want to be closer to Jesus.”
And so should we all.
Christmas is beautiful. I love the lights, the snow on the ground and the chill in the air. But what I love most is watching my children grow up with Jesus.
I don’t always share that very well with others. I tend to keep it to myself. Keep my heart safe. But like our rustic crèche with cracks and crooked walls, the gift of Christmas is meant to be shared.
And there’s always room for one more.
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